


Plucked Feathers

by knight7272



Series: Post Lighthouse War [6]
Category: Ace Combat
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Major Character Injury, Married Couple, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Canon, Rating May Change, Surgery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 20:34:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28712844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/knight7272/pseuds/knight7272
Summary: new summary coming soonCo-written with K-nack7
Relationships: Avril "Scrap Queen" Mead/Trigger
Series: Post Lighthouse War [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2196933





	Plucked Feathers

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Ace Combat

June 21st 2022  
The Hansen Residence  
14:30pm

The sun had just started to set on the horizon as Trigger leaned against the open hangar door. He scanned the orange skies taking note of the silhouette of a plane coming in, the rumble from its engines becoming louder. As the F-104 approached its final turn its landing gear dropped down, the aircraft setting down onto the runway and a drag chute deploying behind it to help it slow down. Once it passed the taxiway, the chute detached itself from the plane.

He watched the Starfighter's turbojet give a low whine as it rolled towards the hangar he was waiting outside of. a UAV ground tug helped pushed the aircraft in as the canopy opened. As he walked over to it, the woman he was waiting for raised herself out of the cockpit pulling the helmet off her head, although he noticed she was having difficulty getting out, with a pained expression on her face. His smile quickly vanished.

"Avril? Everything alright?" Trigger called out to her, quickly climbing the steps placed beside the plane. However she raised her hand to stop him.

"I'm fine, my leg's just acting up. Just give me a minute." She groaned out through clenched teeth. Avril tried to lift herself up again putting weight on her leg, but it gave out under her again. She winced as she fell back into the cockpit. She cursed under her breath as Trigger appeared beside her.

"Hang on. I'm gonna lift you out." He said, putting his arms under her legs and back. He gently lifted her out of the cockpit, worriedly looking at her gritting her teeth as she held her leg.

"Shit, we should get you to the hospital." He muttered, climbing down the steps with her in his arms.

"Okay, okay. Just set me down, I'll manage-"

"Not a chance. I'm carrying you there."

"Trigger, I-"

"No!" He said in a stern voice. "Don't even think of arguing, I'm carrying you there and that's final. You're hurt bad. I'd never forgive myself if I let you do this on your own."

She fell quiet, instead putting her arms around his neck as he carried her to the building.

Solius Ortis Hospital

Once they arrived, Avril was quickly admitted in. Now she lay in bed, Trigger beside her as the doctor looked at the notes on his clipboard.

"Well? What is it, doc?" Trigger asked worriedly, holding the mechanic's hand.

"We analysed the sample from her leg. It seems the gel structure holding the bone has broken down, leaking into the rest of her leg." He brought up a Geiger counter, pointing it at her thigh. It began to buzz loudly. "May I ask, what altitude do you fly at?"

"Around fifty thousand feet." Avril answered in a small voice.

The doctor thought for a few seconds before sighing. "That explains it. Radiation from flying at such high altitudes may have possibly caused the gel to fail and break down."

"I don't understand." Trigger said. "It was supposed to last at least twenty years."

"Estimates, sir. External causes play a major factor in contributing to how long something can last." The doctor replied. He turned to Avril. "I'm sorry, Miss Mead. The gel and nanotechnology are still very primitive. You will need a long term solution to this, like surgery. We can get the gel out and have the bone replaced, but it will be a difficult and painful process, both physically and mentally. I cannot guarantee a one hundred percent success rate. Otherwise, you can be confined to a leg brace, or in a worst case scenario a wheelchair for the rest of your life."

Avril looked down. "Yeah, I understand, doc. Thank you."

The doctor opened the ward door. "I'll give you two time to think about this. Once again, I am sorry."

Trigger nodded in thanks as the doctor left. He turned to Avril. "How you feeling?"

"I'm fine." She said, a little too quickly.

"Hey come on." He began, squeezing her hand. "You heard the doc, just need to get it out. Simple as that. Besides," he continued, pulling her into a hug. "Bum leg or not, I'm sticking by your side. I need my mechanic you know. Who else is gonna fix my plane up for me, or tell me how much I fly recklessly, or make me new parts for my plane, or have a little fun in the hangar-"

"Okay, okay I get it." She giggled, finally cracking a smile. "Thanks. Dumbass."

"You're gonna be fine." He reassured her, wiping her wet eyes and bringing her hand up to his lips, placing a small kiss on her fingers. "So, you made your choice?"

"Yeah." She said. "I'll do it."

The doctor soon returned along with a wheelchair. "So have you two made up your mind?" He asked them.

"We'll go along with the surgery. Don't worry about the pay, if it means she can walk and fly again its worth it." Trigger answered.

The doctor smiled at him. "Very well. It can be scheduled in two days from now, we have a free slot. She will have to spend two more weeks after, getting used to it. As for now, she will have to remain here. First she needs to be showered, and put on a hospital gown. The nurses-"

"I'll do it. I'm her husband, and she'll feel more comfortable with it." Trigger piped up.

"I was going to suggest that. Here's the hospital gown and a wheelchair for her. Down the hallway to the left. Good evening, sir. Ma'am." With that the doctor took his leave.

"Come on, lets get you up." Trigger said, giving Avril his hand. She took it, and with his help got up to sit down in the wheelchair, the neatly folded gown in her lap. He moved behind it and rubbed her shoulders before grasping the handles and wheeling her out of the ward.

Once they reached the secluded bathroom, they found a suitable bathtub she could sit in. Placing the gown onto a shelf and pulling forward a screen for privacy, Trigger got to filling the tub. Turning both handles he waited as the tub filled up with moderately warm water while Avril took her shirt off. Turning around, he noticed her struggling with her pants. Moving her leg seemed to be hurting her.

"Hold on." He turned the faucets off once the tub was full before turning to give her his full attention. Kneeling down in front of her he unbuttoned her trousers, pulling the zipper down and helping her stand up. She put her weight on her good leg, leaning onto him for extra support as he pulled them down. Doing the same with her undergarments, he took her hand and helped her step into the tub. She sat down, submerging herself into the warm water while he rolled up his sleeves. Her clothes neatly folded and places into a pile on the shelf, he set himself to the task at hand.

Sitting down in the chair next to the tub, Trigger first used the showerhead to pour water over her. Once she significantly wet, he picked up the shampoo bottle, squeezing out some of it into the palm of his hand. Rubbing it into her hair, he lathered it up, scratching and massaging her head gently as she leaned back, sinking into the water.

"This sucks." Avril muttered quietly, closing her eyes and trying to focus on him massaging her head.

Thinking of a way to cheer her up, he began humming quietly to himself. He scooped up a small amount of lather, spreading it all over her nose. She snapped out of her stupor, glaring at him as he continued to hum.

He grinned as he poured water over her hair, washing out the shampoo and any dirt along with it. Handing her the body wash, he rubbed her shoulders, easing out the kinks in her muscles as she leaned back in pleasure.

"Oh fuck me, that's good." she drawled, feeling the stiffness wash away. Her eyes started to droop, until she was splashed in the face. "What the-"

Wiping the water out of her eyes, she looked back to see Trigger silently laughing to himself. She slapped the surface of the water, sending droplets all over him. "Idiot!"

"Hey, hey, easy!" He chuckled. "No sleeping yet." He flicked a few drops of water in her direction in retaliation.

"Damnit, Trigger!" She started, until bursting into a fit of giggles as he tickled her underarms. She squirmed in the tub sending water everywhere.

"Okay, okay, stop! That's not fair!" She laughed out, trying to push him away and succeeding. He smiled as he emptied a generous amount of bodywash onto a sponge, lathering it up. "Can you stand?"

"I can try." She answered, gripping the sides of the tub hesitantly.

"Hold onto my shoulders."

Avril slowly raised herself out of the water, gripping his shoulders. Her short stature allowed him to easily clean her from the neck down. Starting from the back of her neck he scrubbed his way down to her muscled back, stopping only to give her rear a wet smack which earned him a glare from her, to the back of her thighs. Starting back from the top front this time, he took a little too long around her chest, only moving down when she dug her nails into his shoulders a little too hard. Grinning to himself, he squeezed more suds out of the sponge and moved to her stomach. He stopped after a few seconds to admire her soapy wet midriff, the faint telltale lines of abs ever present.

"Damn. Don't lose a day of working out, do you Avie?" Trigger smirked at her.

"Shut up, dumbass..." Avril muttered, her face slightly red. Her blush became more intense when he leaned forward to plant a small kiss on her wet stomach, right below her navel.

He was about to move on below when she stopped him. "I can do that myself, thank you very much."

Letting out an "aww" of mock disappointment, he helped hold her steady as she scrubbed her legs down. Once completed, she sat back into the tub with his help, watching the water turn soapy. Turning the showerhead on, he hosed her down with warm water, reaching around to make sure he got every area still covered in bodywash. Giving her one last lookover to be completely sure, he pulled the drain plug, satisfied. She sat in the tub as he dried her off with a towel.

"There we go. One squeaky clean Scrap Queen coming right up." He said, giving her a toothy smile and parting her short damp hair as she normally would.

She stuck her tongue out at him as he wrapped her up in the towel, lifting her out of the tub. He placed her down into the wheelchair gently, kneeling in front of her.

"You're going to be okay." He assured her as she took his hand in hers, rubbing the band around his ring finger.

Trigger leaned in close to hug her tight, or as best as he could hug someone in a chair. Breaking the hug he pulled the towel along with him. He helped her put the hospital gown on, tying the back for her. Caressing and pinching her cheek until she slapped his hand away, he let out a small laugh and wheeled her out to her ward.

As they were headed to their room they heard a woman's voice call out to them. "There you two are."

Trigger stopped the wheelchair and turned around to see Count and Huxian walk up to them.

"Damn, you okay?" Count worriedly asked Avril.

"I'm not doing too good. This leg's all busted and needs surgery if I want to walk or fly again." She answered, gesturing to her leg.

"Damn. It'll be okay, I'm sure. I mean, you have Trigger with you too, right?" Huxian said.

"Yeah I'm here for you. We all are." Trigger told her. "Speaking of which, I'll be spending my night here in the hospital with her. At least until she gets better."

"Alright, sounds good. Since we're here, I'm heading down to the cafeteria, see what grub they serve here. You coming, Trigger?" Count asked.

"Yeah alright. I haven't eaten in hours." He answered, and turned to Huxian. "Huxian-"

"You don't even have to ask, boss. I'll keep her company." She said, taking the handles of Avril's wheelchair from him.

"Thanks you too." He smiled at both of them. Leaning down to give Avril a quick kiss on her forehead, Trigger followed Count into the elevator while Avril settled into her bed with Huxian's help.

"She's not doing so well, is she?" Count asked Trigger. Both had found some empty seats in the cafeteria and were having their lunch.

"You heard her yourself." Trigger sighed. "I've been trying to keep her mind off of it."

"Something like that, I'm not really sure you can't just not think about it, man." Count said. His eyes then lit up. "Hey I got an idea. She likes building those plane models doesn't she? She told us all about it a while back when we had flight training. Hell, you do too. Why not get her one?"

Trigger looked up at his friend, a grin on his face. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Lets finish up here first and see where we can get one."

Avril looked around the room, fiddling with her thumbs as she usually did. The sound of muffled footsteps from outside her door were occasionally heard from doctors, nurses, visitors and other various staff, going about their day to day business. She looked down at her leg, obscured by the gown she was e had been given medicine to numb the pain, but now it felt like there was a weight on it all the time. At least it doesn't hurt as much, she thought. She smacked her lips, feeling her dry throat and swung her good leg over the side, intending to get up and pour herself a glass of water from the jug on the table. Just then, the door opened and Trigger stopped as he surveyed the room.

"Oh no you don't." He said in a stern voice, setting the bags in his hands down. "Back in bed you go."

"I'm just trying to get some water, Trigger." She sighed shaking her head. Nevertheless, the leg hanging down the bedside retreated back into the covers it had emerged from.

"Why didn't you call a nurse to get you some?" He said, pouring some water into a glass and handing it to her. She accepted it and drank a little before looking at him with a glare.

"Oh yes, I know, I know, big bad Scrap Queen doesn't need any help with such simple things, oh no. She's a strong and independent woman." He drawled, shaking his hands in an exaggerated manner.

"I wish I had a wrench right about now." She growled.

"Well too bad, you don't." He said, flicking her nose. She batted her hand at him but missed entirely, making him chuckle. "However, you do have this."

He pulled a box out of one of the bags, handing it to her. It was a model plane, a Starfighter to be exact.

"Oh good, I get to throw all individual pieces at you?" She asked.

"No, you're supposed to build these. You know, for being my mechanic and wife I'd think you to be smarter." He teased her.

"When your husband's the biggest dumbass ever some of it tends to rub off on you." She said.

"Seems that medicine's giving you an unintended side effect of sass huh."

She stuck her tongue out at him, holding up the box. "I still think it would be more fun to throw them at you. Thanks, dumbass."

"You're welcome. So, lets build this."

Evening soon turned to night, and after much trial and error mainly on Trigger's part the Starfighter model was built at last. Placing it in front of her, he smirked victoriously at her.

"See? We got it done."

"I guess we did, even after all those mistakes." She laughed.

"That's because," he said, pressing his face against her cheek as he picked up the plane, holding it up in front of them, "we make a good team."

"You mean I have to bail you out whenever you screw up."

"Isn't that the whole point of a team?" He grinned, kissing her cheek.

"You dumbass." She giggled.

He brought the plane down, imitating the sounds of an aircraft as he did, making her shake her head and smile. He stopped as he levelled it with her stomach, right in front of her chest.

"Captain, there are two mountains in the way, you have to pull up!" He said in a high-pitched voice.

"Oh you stupid-" she began, snatching the plane out of his hand as he burst out laughing. Unable to contain herself, she began laughing as well. Once the plane was out of his hand, he put his arms around her, pressing his face into her neck. She tried to pull him off, but he nipped at it with his lips, his breath tickling her as she squirmed around.

"Trigger, watch it damnit! Stop, not again!" She yelled out, between her laughs as he continued to tickle her. She tried to pull him off but to no avail. However he listened this time, pulling back with a toothy grin on his face.

"See, that worked again." He said.

Once her laughter slowed down, she gave him a soft smile. Placing the plane on the table, she took hold on his collar pulling him in, but for a quick kiss instead.

"I feel like everything's gonna be okay with you around." She said after breaking it, resting his head on her chest.

"Well, it wasn't 'Stick with Trigger and you'll make it' for no reason, you know." He said, voice slightly muffled as she giggled.

"You wanna hear another great quote, from our AWACS?" He said, hands becoming grabby. "It was 'put the meat between those bums and its well done'."

"Alright, behave yourself. We're in a hospital." She said, pushing his head and hands off her chest.

"I do love it when you tell me to behave." He grinned, setting his head down beside her arm. He took her hand into his, resting them on her stomach. Squeezing it tightly, he muttered to her, "sleep tight, Avie."

The following day went by in a blur. Trigger brought Avril her breakfast to her so she would not have to get up, despite her protesting constantly she can walk a little. The rest of the LRSSG came by to visit, both squadrons and even Long Caster. A little overwhelmed by too many visitors, a cross doctor had to tell them they can only stay for an hour. Huxian and Count were the only ones who stayed behind a little longer to talk, and with a promise from Trigger to take her to an exclusive restaurant when she would be discharged and that Huxian would help find her a suitable dress or suit, whichever she preferred. During the evening, Trigger would read her a book she enjoyed.

The next morning, he stood outside the operating room, her in front of him in her wheelchair. She had been given a crutch but Trigger looked concerned whenever she used it, especially without any painkillers so she opted to be given the wheelchair, just for his sake. He placed a hand on her shoulder, Avril placing her own on his. Trigger leaned down to kiss her forehead.

"Good luck." He muttered, keeping his lips pressed against her face.

The doctor came out of the room accompanied by a nurse.

"Are you ready, Miss Mead?" He asked.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Avril nodded.

"Very well."

The nurse took the wheelchair from Trigger, wheeling Avril into the room but not before she gave him one last look before the doors closed.

"She'll be fine, she's a strong woman from what you've told me about her." The doctor reassured him. Eyes still glued to the operating room doors, he muttered:

"Yeah. She is."

After a worryingly four hour long surgery which had Trigger pacing back and forth constantly, Avril was finally brought out of the operating room on a gurney, still asleep. He hurriedly walked up to the doctor, tension relieving when he saw the smile on his face.

"I'm pleased to say the operation was a success. The bone has been replaced and all of the gel has been removed. It was a bit tricky, since it had leaked between the muscles. She's under the anaesthetics for now, but she'll wake up on her own soon. She has to stay here for a week however, due to the severity of the situation. We'll run some tests, help her get adjusted, and provide both mental and physical therapy, including removing the string once her skin heals over."

Letting out a breath he had been holding in the whole time the he was talking, he grasped the doctor's hand. "Thank you, doc. Thank you so much, you and the surgeons, for everything."

The doctor raised a hand to stop him. "Please, just doing our jobs. I'll convey your thanks to the surgeons, what you need to do is be beside your wife when she wakes up, alright? I presume the anaesthetics will wear off in say, half an hour."

"Of course. Thanks, doc."

Shaking the doctor's hand, Trigger hurriedly walked back to Avril's room where the nurses had settled her into the bed. He immediately took her hand into his, rubbing her knuckles softly. He could see the incision on her leg that the surgeons had made to replace her bone. Shivering slightly at the thought of what had happened in the operating room, he sat down next to her bed.

Once half an hour had passed, as the doctor said Avril began to wearily open her eyes. She let out a groan, feeling a numbness in her right leg. Trigger immediately got up, pressing the button to call the nurse. He took her hand in his, rubbing it as she looked at him with bleary eyes.

"Hey. You're finally awake."

She groaned again. "Ugh. Need water."

He refilled her glass from the jug, helping her sit up to drink it. Once the cool liquid trickled down her throat, she let out a pleased sigh.

"That was good, never underestimating water ever again." She turned to look at Trigger's smiling face and then to her leg. "Judging by that grin, I assume my leg's operation was successful."

He sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled her into a hug. She accepted the embrace tightly.

"It was. Welcome back, Scrap Queen."

**Author's Note:**

> So I hope you all are having a good start to 2021 now this was suppose to be the 2nd chapter of flight to Gracemeria but now it's own story and it's currently planned to have some smut in the next chapter
> 
> A big thank you to K-nack7 for his help.


End file.
